Thursday, November 12, 2009
A modest proposal
From Dylan Ratigan for the benefit of our troops.
I propose that we immediately enact the following:And to keep Tom Coburn happy, we can offset this by redirecting all federal monies that would otherwise go to Oklahoma.
* Give every single man and woman that is fighting for us a housing credit of $50,000, with the caveat that the credit must be used by someone within two years.
* Make it so that the credits are completely fungible, meaning that if the veteran doesn't wish to buy a house, he or she can sell the credit to someone who does -- and keep the money. If the reselling of gift cards on Ebay is any indication, I am sure there will be a thriving market where soldiers could probably get pretty close to 90 cents on the dollar for their credit.
Considering the roughly 2 million veterans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan so far, this would give a much needed $100 billion boost to the housing market. Just as a template for comparison, Goldman Sachs (albeit it doing "God's work") and the other complicit banks like JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley will pay $29.4 billion in personal bonuses this year.
In reporting on this financial crisis, I have been most surprised by the blatant disregard that our politicians and even some journalists have shown for the most fundamental American notion of fairness. I don't think handing taxpayer trillions to some of the least worthy individuals is something that our country will stand for, regardless of what the current incumbents think.
If we must resort to handouts to save our country, let's at least put them in the hands of the most deserving.
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